Hello! Happy New Year! You're reading this, so I take it you're interested in what I have to say (that, or you just got bored while trying to read my bio and wanted something less yawn-inducing). In any case, greetings from BC! I am here now, nearing the end of my winter break, which is always an interesting time of year - so many celebrations, reunions, food comas, and of course for all of the musicians, Christmas gigs. Inevitably, in the midst of all the season's festivities (and in 2019's case, wisdom tooth surgery), I end up spending nowhere near the amount of time at a piano as I would prefer. As an unfortunate consequence, I often feel like a creative artist who's neglecting to create. But, I've come to learn that that's just not true. In fact, I think the time away from normalcy forces some internal creativity in me - reflecting on a busy year, making sense of everything I miss, trudging through things that frustrate me, and taking the time to muse about something beautiful while simultaneously stuffing my face with endless hors d'oeuvres (slightly less beautiful...). Whether I was motivated by boredom, genuine interest, finding purpose in the short and dreary days, or just being "trendy," I do see some real value in entering the blogging realm. I've thought about blogging before, perhaps I just needed some jet lag to make it happen. Me as a blogger makes sense I suppose.
I am the son of a writer and perfectionist, so I am forever overanalyzing things.
My second go-to coping mechanism is journaling (second only to humor, more specifically, puns and sarcasm).
I find that my ideas become more real when I articulate them to others (i.e. I think for me, a blog is good space for processing new ideas and provides accountability to follow through on those ideas).
I am without a doubt a friendly, outgoing introvert (confusing, I know). A hiker and North Carolina small town native, I am familiar with scenarios of smiling and waving at casual passersby and getting in long conversations with strangers at the grocery store. I enjoy people and enjoy knowing that they all have knowledge and perspective I have yet to encounter (and vice versa). Too much interaction, however, leaves me fatigued and exhausted. I absolutely need frequent "me-time" to reflect, recuperate, and [insert whichever "re-" word you wish to complete the cadence]. That solitude is when my inspiration really takes root in a personal, meaningful way, and afterward, the performer in me cannot help but share it with all of you!
Basically: my circumstances = a recipe for a blogger. What exactly will I write about? I don't know, honestly... Music, nature, fun anecdotes and reflections, serious problems I wrestle with, my life, blah, blah, blah. Stay tuned! I'm hoping for a good mix of music research, pedagogical perspective, project updates, and a little bit of me thrown in there, too (because who doesn't love to talk about themselves?). So, here we are, nearing the end of a paragraph, babbling about babbling, and with that, the start of a blog by Joseph Stacy.
2019 was a big year. I traveled across four different time zones, spent time in at least ten different U.S. states and two Canadian Provinces, and back in September, I ended up moving from East Coast to West Coast and even across international borders! 2019 also marks me graduating with my Bachelor's degree, auditioning and accepting an offer of admission for a Master's degree, presenting at multiple national piano pedagogy conferences, and meeting several of the musicians I most admire. My most profound events of 2019 though, were the ones least tangible - the farewells, the passions I discovered, the sporadic epiphanies in the practice room, and the vast beauty surrounding me (e.g. the sunset in the image above).
I think back to this time last year. In January of 2019, my last semester of undergrad was underway. I was juggling lots of repertoire as I neared a daunting audition season, preparing new repertoire for a competition also rapidly approaching, finalizing my presentation for the MTNA Pedagogy Symposium, and unsuccessfully trying to keep my bank account afloat after all sorts of application fees and flight purchases... In no way am I complaining. It was an incredibly rewarding and memorable month, BUT I certainly would not want to relive it. I bring this up simply to say that I find it so fascinating. Twelve months ago, I would not have expected to be living where I am, surrounded by beaches, mountains, and skyscrapers, calling Canada home, and being an "international student," not to mention living with seven other twenty-somethings from six different countries in a single bathroom house... Yikes. In hindsight though, it's impossible for me to imagine it having turned out differently. This place allows me to understand exactly what I am setting out to do, and it has encouraged me to delve into how exactly I go about doing that. I look at all of the people and opportunities this path has brought me, and it leaves me feeling so many different ways but mostly overwhelmed and humbled.
The rest of 2019 took my breath away time and time again with masterful artwork, sublime music, majestic mountains, and tear-filled belly laughs. It was a pretty great year. There were struggles and difficulties for sure, and there were times that I was left questioning if I was even in the right field. Yeah, 2019 delivered its share of rough patches, and albeit great, it wasn't an easy year. So, I go into 2020 knowing that there will be more rough patches and more disappointment. I also go into 2020 knowing that I don't want it to be an easy year. Sure, an easy year would be... well, easy! But easy feels artificial, boring, shallow. I'd rather be anything than shallow.
2020 is here. With that in mind, here are some thoughts. I have never been a New Years Resolution kind of guy, but I do take time to reflect on the previous year as an opportunity to figure out a little bit more about myself. I think about Joseph from January 2019 or Joseph from January 2015 (you get the idea), and I hope that he would be proud. It's cheesy, I know, but it's an important reminder to me - a reminder that yes, there is always more work to be done, but also that I have accomplished things, I have learned so much, and I have an amazing opportunity to do good through music. For me, it's extremely valuable to process the differences between who I know myself to be now versus then. This usually leads to me laughing at an 18-year-old Joseph who thought he knew what he was doing, but it can also lead me to rediscover things about those previous versions of myself - things I really appreciate. As I look back, I try to see if somewhere along the way I lost something positive, and if so, then I try to figure out what happened and pick up those broken pieces. I guess you could say instead of a "New Year. New Me," philosophy, it's more like, "New Year. Who am I?" In other words, I want to always be authentic - in this blog, in my performance, and in my everyday interactions with others. So, in the spirit of authenticity, I should let you know that I spent WAY too much time struggling to figure out how to conclude this first blogpost and will leave you on that note. Anyway, thanks for reading! Hope you found it worthwhile, and all my very best wishes for your 2020 (*cue the 20/20 vision jokes). Cheers!
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